May 1--Cunarder Lusitania sails from New York for Liverpool; no
passenger bookings are canceled, although discussion is aroused by a
newspaper advertisement inserted by the German Embassy at Washington
stating that "travelers sailing in the war zone on ships of Great
Britain or her allies do so at their own risk."
May 7--Lusitania is sunk ten miles off the Old Head of Kinsale,
Ireland, by either one or two torpedoes discharged without warning by
a German submarine, stated to be the U-39; the Cunarder is hit about
2:05 P.M., and sinks in about eighteen minutes; 1,154 persons,
including many women and children, are drowned, or are killed by
explosions, while among the saved are 47 injured passengers; among the
dead are 102 Americans; the saved total 764, among whom are 86
Americans; of the saved 462 are passengers and 302 belong to the crew;
Captain William T. Turner of the Lusitania is saved by clinging to a
bit of wreckage for two hours after remaining on the bridge until his
ship sank; the ship was valued at $10,000,000, and the 1,500 tons of
cargo, among which were munitions of war, at $735,000; official
Washington and the nation generally, as well as other neutral and
allied nations, are profoundly stirred by the news; President Wilson
receives bulletins at the White House; London is astounded, and there
are criticisms of the Admiralty for not having convoyed the Lusitania;
panic conditions prevail on the New York Stock Exchange for thirty
minutes after the first news is received, but the market closes with a
rally.
May 8--Secretary Tumulty, after a conference with President Wilson,
states that the Chief Executive "is considering very earnestly, but
very calmly, the right course of action to pursue"; Secretary Bryan
directs Ambassadors Gerard and Page to make full reports; an official
communication issued in Berlin states that the Lusitania "was
naturally armed with guns," that "she had large quantities of war
material in her cargo," that her owners are responsible for the
sinking, and that Germany gave full warning of the danger; the British
Government announces that the statement that the Lusitania was armed
"is wholly false"; American newspapers strongly condemn the sinking,
many referring to it as murder; there is talk of war by many private
citizens of the United States; there is rejoicing in Germany, where
towns are hung with flags and children in Southern Germany are given a
half-holiday, so reports state; Berlin newspapers acclaim the sinking,
while hundreds of telegrams of congratulation are received by Admiral
von Tirpitz, Minister of Marine; Dr. Bernhard Dernburg, former German
Colonial Secretary, in a statement in Cleveland, argues that the
sinking was justified.
May 9--Dudley Field Malone, Collector of the Port of New York, makes
an official denial that the Lusitania was armed when she sailed;
President Wilson has not yet consulted his Cabinet on the situation,
but is studying the problem alone; Theodore Roosevelt terms the
sinking "an act of simple piracy," and declares we should act at once;
survivors criticise the British Admiralty for not supplying a convoy,
and also criticise the handling of the Lusitania; newspapers in Vienna
rejoice over the torpedoing.
May 10--In a speech at Philadelphia, President Wilson declares that
"there is such a thing as a man being too proud to fight; there is
such a thing as a nation being so right that it does not need to
convince others by force that it is right"; Coroner's jury at Kinsale,
which investigated five deaths resulting from the torpedoing of the
Lusitania, in returning its verdict charges the Emperor and Government
of Germany, and the officers of the submarine, "with the crime of
wholesale murder before the tribunal of the civilized world"; a spirit
of vengeance is springing up in England; the German Foreign Office
sends to the German Embassy at Washington, which communicates it to
the State Department, a message of sympathy at the loss of lives, but
says the blame rests with England for her "starvation plan" and for
her having armed merchantmen; telegrams are pouring in by the hundred
to the White House and the Department of State, but the majority
advise against the use of force; there is a fifteen-minute panic on
the New York Stock Exchange on the rumor of the assassination of
President Wilson, prices falling from 4 to 15 points; British
exchanges bar German members; the National Security League issues an
open letter in New York, declaring that the army, navy, and coast
defenses are inadequate, and urging support for a military efficiency
program; various State Legislatures pledge their support to President
Wilson.
May 11--Secretary Bryan receives an official circular issued by the
German Government which declares that there is no intention of
attacking, either by submarine or aircraft, neutral ships in the war
zone, and that if such attacks occur through mistake damages will be
paid; President Wilson is at work on his communication to Berlin;
American Line announces it will not hereafter carry contraband of war;
Navy League of the United States passes a resolution asking President
Wilson to call an extra session of Congress to authorize a bond issue
of $500,000,000 for a bigger navy; riots occur all over England,
demonstrations being made against Germans and German shops; former
President Roosevelt states that the United States should act promptly
and should forbid all commerce with Germany, while former President
Taft states that delay can do no harm and that the United States
should not hurry into war; President Wilson's Philadelphia speech
results in a rise in prices on the New York Stock Exchange; the
Committee of Mercy issues a country-wide appeal for help for destitute
survivors of the Lusitania; customs guard on German ships at Boston is
doubled; Cunard Line cancels intended sailing of the Mauretania from
Liverpool; extra police guards are placed over the German ships at
Hoboken.
May 12--Postponement is made until tomorrow of the sending of the
American note to Germany; German Embassy discontinues its
advertisement warning the public not to sail on British or allied
ships: anti-alien rioting continues in England; seventy customs men,
on orders from Washington, search German ships at Hoboken for
explosives, none being found.
May 13--The text of the American note to Germany is made public at
Washington; besides the Lusitania, it mentions the Falaba, Cushing,
and Gulflight cases; it states that the United States Government
expects a disavowal of the acts of the German commanders, reparation
for the injuries, and a prevention of such acts in the future; it
indicates that submarine warfare should be given up; it refers to the
"surprising irregularity" of the German Embassy's advertisement
warning Americans to keep off British ships, and states that notice of
an unlawful act cannot be an excuse for its commission; it states that
Germany will not expect the United States "to omit any word or any
act" necessary to maintain American rights.
May 14--The American note to Germany has been delayed in transmission,
and is not presented yet; President Wilson and the Cabinet are pleased
with the response of the country to the note, which is praised
generally by newspapers and public men: damage in anti-German rioting
in South Africa is reported from Cape Town to exceed $5,000,000.
May 15--Ambassador Gerard hands the American note to the German
Foreign Office; newspapers in England and France praise the note; Dr.
Dernburg, who has for months been in the United States as unofficial
spokesman for Germany, expresses a desire to go home, this being due,
it is understood in Washington, to the criticisms resulting from his
defense of the sinking of the Lusitania; German-American newspapers
and prominent German-American individuals are going on record as being
for the United States as against Germany in event of war.
May 16--New York clergymen from their pulpits praise President
Wilson's note to Germany as a powerful instrument for the
preservation of peace in this country; the loss of the Lusitania is
proving a stimulus to recruiting in Great Britain.
May 17--The American note has not yet been published in Berlin, and
most of the newspapers, under confidential orders from the Government,
have refrained from comment.
May 18--Statements made by the officers of the British tank steamer
Narragansett and of the British steamship Etonian, on arriving at New
York and Boston, respectively, show that these ships and a third were
prevented from going to the rescue of the Lusitania's passengers by
German submarines; a torpedo was fired at the Narragansett.
May 19--Several leading German newspapers join in an attack on the
United States, demanding that Germany refuse to yield to the American
protest, the text of the note having been made known.
May 30--Full text of the German reply to the American note arrives in
Washington and is made public; as to the Cushing and the Gulflight it
is declared that the German Government has no intention of attacking
neutral vessels by submarine or aircraft, and where it is proved that
the attacked ship is not to blame is willing to offer regrets and pay
indemnity, it being added that both the cases mentioned are now under
investigation, which inquiry can be supplemented by reference to The
Hague: as to the Falaba, it is declared that the persons on board were
given twenty-three minutes to get off, and it is indicated that the
passengers and crew would have had fuller opportunity to leave had the
ship not tried to escape and had she not signaled for help by rockets:
as to the Lusitania, it is declared she was built as an auxiliary
cruiser and so carried on the British navy list, that Germany
understands she was armed with cannon, that she carried war material
and Canadian troops, while, in addition, the British Admiralty has
instructed merchantmen to ram submarines; thus the sinking of the
Lusitania was a measure of "justified self-defense"; it is also
declared that the Cunard Company is "wantonly guilty" of the deaths,
in allowing passengers to embark under the conditions cited;
unofficial expressions of opinion from public men at Washington show
there is disappointment and dissatisfaction over the note, which is
held to be evasive; German Foreign Secretary von Jagow, in an
interview given to The Associated Press correspondent in Berlin,
declares that the note is not a final one because the German
Government considers it essential "to establish a common basis of fact
before entering into a discussion of the issues involved."
May 31--American press as a whole finds the German reply
unsatisfactory, declaring that it is evasive and fails to meet the
issue; London newspapers find the reply to be a "weak evasion";
German-American press as a whole supports the reply; Governors of
States and other public men generally agree in condemning the note,
but many of them suggest the need for caution; Berlin newspapers hold
that the reply is complete.
June 1--President Wilson brings the German note before the Cabinet,
which has a long conference.
June 2--A conference is held at the White House between President
Wilson and Ambassador von Bernstorff, at the latter's request;
Ambassador von Bernstorff arranges to send through the State
Department a report to his Government of his talk with the President
and of the condition of public opinion in this country; von Bernstorff
tells the President that he has been given affidavits that the
Lusitania was armed; these affidavits are given to the American
Department of State for investigation.
June 3--Ambassador von Bernstorff is arranging to send an emissary,
Dr. Anton Meyer-Gerhard, to Berlin to explain the position of the
American Government and the state of public opinion; the affidavits
that the Lusitania was armed are under official investigation;
newspaper investigations throw doubt on their authenticity.
June 5--British Ambassador transmits a note from his Government to the
United States Government assuring this country that the Lusitania was
unarmed.
June 8--Secretary of State Bryan resigns because he cannot join in the
new note to Germany, so he states in a letter to President Wilson,
without violating what he deems his duty to the country and without
being unfair "to the cause which is nearest my heart, namely, the
prevention of war"; President Wilson's letter accepting the
resignation expresses "deep regret" and "personal sorrow"; Counselor
Robert Lansing is Acting Secretary of State; newspapers generally
welcome Mr. Bryan's resignation; the note to Germany is read at a
Cabinet meeting and finally decided upon.
June 9--Acting Secretary of State Lansing signs the note to Germany
and sends it to Ambassador Gerard; Mr. Bryan's resignation causes
interest in England and Germany; Mr. Bryan says that he favors inquiry
by an international commission into the points at issue between the
United States and Germany, and that Americans should be warned not to
travel on belligerent ships; German-American press praises Mr. Bryan.
June 10--President Wilson's answer to the German note is made public
at Washington; it "asks for assurances" that Germany will safeguard
American lives and American ships; the German Government is assured
that it has been misinformed as to the alleged arming of the
Lusitania; it is stated that the United States is contending for the
rights of humanity, on which principle "the United States must stand";
Mr. Bryan issues a statement to the public, explaining his views;
Gustav Stahl, said to be a former German soldier, who made an
affidavit that he saw four guns on the Lusitania, is arrested by
Federal officers on a charge of perjury.
June 11--The pacific nature of the American note causes satisfaction
in Germany; Mr. Bryan issues a statement to German-Americans; Colonel
Roosevelt, in a statement, upholds President Wilson.
June 12--Mr. Bryan issues a third statement; some German-American
newspapers criticise his statement addressed to German-Americans.
June 13--Newspapers of Germany today contain columns of comment on the
last American note, the general tone being milder, the friendly tenor
of the note being welcomed.
June 15--Court of inquiry opens in London; Captain Turner swears on
the stand that his ship was not armed.